William Sydney Grace (known as Bill) was born in Seaforth on 22 June 1919. Following his education at Merchant Taylor's he met his childhood sweetheart Moira Peverley at 15, and they were married in 1940. Bill volunteered for the RAF the day war was declared, but wasn't posted overseas until 1943 where he was involved in intelligence. He rarely spoke about his experiences during the war, apart from vivid memories of being dive-bombed by Japanese kamikaze pilots. He was on his way to be placed behind the Japanese lines when luckily the war ended.

After being demobbed in May 1946 Bill decided to study dentistry at the London Hospital in Whitechapel, and he qualified in 1951. At first he worked in a number of practices around London, but in 1953 he set up his own NHS practice in Banstead, Surrey, and quickly built a thriving practice. He was a trendsetter in providing music for his patients to listen to during their treatment, and would often seem to spend more time selecting the most appropriate music on his tape recorder than actually carrying out the dentistry.

He enjoyed his dentistry, and would have liked to continue his studies to become a maxillofacial surgeon, but the need to provide for his family prevented this. He built up a successful practice, but the long hours and pressure of patient demand affected his health and he was advised by his doctor that he had to convert to private care if he wished to continue. He moved to Harley Street where many of his patients followed him, and continued his successful career until eventually he retired in 1987. This allowed him to spend more time with his family as he and Moira moved to a mobile home near Tring. The life was ideal for them, as being keen caravanners for many years meant they now lived perpetually 'on holiday'.

Eventually ill health meant a move back to Ewell in Surrey to be near his daughter, and he died on 18 August 2011 after a short battle with prostate cancer. He is survived by his widow and three children.